


the world in his arms

by todoiidoriya



Series: the world in his arms [1]
Category: Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, I just love Orpheus in general tbh, I just love writing about Orpheus healing, I want to write a lot more but it's after 11 on a school night so this is what we get, but don't hold me to that, but yeah basically an AU where Eurydice was pregnant, gods I've been thinking about this AU for like 6 months, hades and hermes are mentioned, hermes is there for a bit but has no dialogue, kind of, this is shorter than what I usually write but I like it a lot, this may become a series later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 00:16:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20321914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/todoiidoriya/pseuds/todoiidoriya
Summary: Persephone has only been gone for a few weeks when Eurydice realizes that she's pregnant.





	the world in his arms

**Author's Note:**

> A big thank you to the Hadestown discord server for letting me screech about this to them for over an hour. I've been crying over it basically since I thought of it. It was really fun to finally put it all into writing. This isn't quite as long as what I usually write, but I'm pretty happy with it.

In the chaos of the last few months, Eurydice has been way too busy to worry about things like her cycle or the unusual sickness she's been feeling. Between first supporting herself and Orpheus through the winter, then helping her husband to trigger a rebellion in Hadestown, and finally the few weeks spent replaying the moment Orpheus turned, her mind has been justifiably occupied. 

But when Persephone leaves for Spring, and her sickness grows worse, she begins to worry. To count each set of 28 days that have passed since her last cycle, to remember each odd stomach ache, and to _worry_.

When her stomach starts to swell, despite her poor diet and weeks of hard work, she isn't surprised. 

The pregnancy is the only thing that keeps her grounded enough to remember, even as her memory tries to leave her. Each flutter and kick from the baby is a sharp reminder. It's bittersweet, in a way, to have memories of the love that caused this pregnancy jumbled together with the constant reminder that he turned. 

The workers help her. They cover her shifts, hold her hair when she's sick, and remind her of her husband when the small kicks aren't enough. They do everything in their limited power to keep her and the baby healthy, but it feels like a losing battle. Hadestown was never meant to foster life, a fact that becomes more and more evident as the pregnancy progresses. 

Eurydice gets sicker and sicker until she can't leave her bed and can barely move. She's too skinny, her face pale and gaunt, and she sleeps more often than not. After a few months of this, Hades takes pity on her and gives her a safe place to stay and a steady source of food. It's an improvement, but everyone knows it can't last. They all watch as Eurydice's strength wanes, and it feels like the end. 

And then Persephone comes back. 

The baby is born that day, and it's a close call, but Persephone's power is enough to keep both Eurydice and the baby alive. It's a girl, and Eurydice calls her Kore, for the woman who saved both of their lives. 

And Eurydice loves her more than she's ever loved anything. She loves her so much that it _hurts_. But Hadestown is no place for a child, and they all know that. On the Spring equinox, when Kore is six months old, Persephone takes her namesake back with her to the world above.

She's looking for Orpheus, and she doesn't have to go far. The moment she steps off the train, there he is, Hermes beside him, looking desolate and haggard and _heartbroken_. These long months have not been kind to him, but she can see, in his eyes, that same devotion that swayed a mighty king. The moment he sets eyes on Kore, bundled in Persephone's arms, he _knows_. 

He takes her carefully, eyes shining with unshed tears. She's small, and fragile, and he holds her delicately, trying not to cry. 

"Her name is Kore," Persephone tells him. 

"Kore," he repeats in a whisper. His eyes never stray from his daughter. Persephone has never seen him so quiet.

He's holding the world in his arms.

* * *

The first few weeks are the hardest. Orpheus hasn't been present in months, drowning in guilt and grief. He could barely meet his own needs, and with Kore's on top of it? If it weren't for Persephone and Hermes, he might have given up. 

But things get better. With Persephone around, it's warm, there's enough food to eat, and the world comes back to life around them. Suddenly just surviving doesn't take everything he has. He starts to sing again, something that he hasn't done since the moment he turned. At first, it's just small melodies, a few notes strung together. But after a few weeks, there are songs. Lullabies, that can sooth Kore to sleep when nothing else can. He remembers the tales that Hermes used to sing to him, and the music keeps him company on the nights when he can't sleep without seeing Eurydice's face. 

Sometimes he finds himself starting to get lost. The music catches him in the same tight grip that held him as a storm raged and a songbird stopped singing. But Kore pulls him back. In the earlier months, her cries jolt him from his stupor. Later, she'll sometimes crawl to him, interrupting his songs by clambering into his lap or strumming twangy notes on his guitar. And it's hard, but he sets his music aside every time. He can't make that mistake again. People need him.

On the Autumn equinox, Kore's first birthday, Orpheus and Hermes, with Kore toddling unsteadily between them, go to see Persephone off. The train comes to a stop in front of them, and the doors open. 

Orpheus is crying before his brain even registers why. Eurydice slams into him with enough force to knock him to the ground, and she pulls him and Kore into the tightest hug he's ever felt, kissing both of their faces and smiling through her tears. 

"It's you," he whispers, every ounce of guilt and regret and love poured into those two words. 

"It's me," she answers. "Orpheus..."

He's never heard a sound so sweet. 

**Author's Note:**

> Does Eurydice get to stay forever, or is she only there for a little while? I'm leaving that one up to interpretation. I guess it depends on whether or not you want to be angsty ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> I might make this into a series, just because I have so many damn ideas for it.


End file.
